[cycloneslider id=”2023-naiop-fight-night”]
By day, they trade properties. By night, they trade blows.
Well, one night.
Eight commercial real estate professionals exited the office and entered the ring last Thursday at the 10th annual “Fight Night” held by NAIOP Colorado, the local professional association. All four bloody bouts, including one featuring female fighters, ended by judge’s decision.
“I could not have been happier with the way things turned out,” said Brandon Kramer, a broker at Marcus & Millichap and Fight Night chair. “I mean, obviously, uncertain economy, we were kind of trying to be conservative with our expectations as far as ticket sales and raffle sales. But it was our biggest year yet. It was amazing — completely sold-out event.”
Though many in the real estate industry flock to the event for a night of libations and entertainment, the real beneficiaries of the evening were the children of Denver.
Every Fight Night event sells raffle tickets to raise money for the Denver Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises money for disadvantaged and at-risk youth. Over the past decade, Fight Night has raked in approximately $300,000 for the foundation.
“We sold out of raffle tickets, which has never happened … I haven’t gotten the final numbers in but I think we probably raised the most we’ve ever raised,” Kramer said.
The rough estimate was $40,000 raised, he continued, but the final figure won’t be determined until later this week.
A series of boxing matches between commercial real estate brokers might seem peculiar to those outside the industry, but Fight Night’s history exists well beyond Denver. The inspiration for the event came from a similar program in Phoenix that Chris King of DPC Cos. attended a few years prior to Fight Night’s inception, Kramer said.
Other NAIOP chapters hold similar events in places such as Southern California and Pittsburgh, which has held its own “Night at the Fights” for nearly 25 years.
But Denver’s event is no joke. In previous years, some fights ended in knockouts. It’s a demanding event that requires months of training and preparation.
One boxing participant, Connor Haney, said prior to the event that he had been training for it since Labor Day, going to the gym five to six times a week for roughly two hours each session.
“The first week or so, I was very sore, I could hardly move after the workout,” said Haney, director of business development for Venture Architecture.
“It is definitely a ‘This is a real thing mentality’ … a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go into the ring and compete.”
Because Fight Night is an officially sanctioned boxing competition, months of preparation goes into ensuring the event runs smoothly. Haney said he reached out to the Fight Night committee in the spring to express interest in fighting. It wasn’t until July that he was told he was in.
Once selected, each boxer is assigned a gym and the training process begins. When asked why he chose to fight, Haney had a simple response.
“It’s just kind of a pride thing.”
The results of the bouts:
Marybeth “Barf” Austin, executive assistant at D.A. Davidson, beat Laura “The Ferrari” Farrar, investment sales manager at CBRE.
Rycherd “One-Time” Lott, director of business development at Gage Commercial Construction, beat Michael “The Harpoon” Harpole, senior associate at CBRE.
Aaron “The Load” Boyd, financial analyst at DPC Cos., beat Albie “Rents Due” Sherman, MBA candidate at the University of Colorado.
Kevin “Individually Metered for Gas and Electric” Woolsey, broker at Kaufman Hagan Commercial Real Estate, beat Connor “Hellish” Haney, director of business development at Venture Architecture.
[cycloneslider id=”2023-naiop-fight-night”]
By day, they trade properties. By night, they trade blows.
Well, one night.
Eight commercial real estate professionals exited the office and entered the ring last Thursday at the 10th annual “Fight Night” held by NAIOP Colorado, the local professional association. All four bloody bouts, including one featuring female fighters, ended by judge’s decision.
“I could not have been happier with the way things turned out,” said Brandon Kramer, a broker at Marcus & Millichap and Fight Night chair. “I mean, obviously, uncertain economy, we were kind of trying to be conservative with our expectations as far as ticket sales and raffle sales. But it was our biggest year yet. It was amazing — completely sold-out event.”
Though many in the real estate industry flock to the event for a night of libations and entertainment, the real beneficiaries of the evening were the children of Denver.
Every Fight Night event sells raffle tickets to raise money for the Denver Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises money for disadvantaged and at-risk youth. Over the past decade, Fight Night has raked in approximately $300,000 for the foundation.
“We sold out of raffle tickets, which has never happened … I haven’t gotten the final numbers in but I think we probably raised the most we’ve ever raised,” Kramer said.
The rough estimate was $40,000 raised, he continued, but the final figure won’t be determined until later this week.
A series of boxing matches between commercial real estate brokers might seem peculiar to those outside the industry, but Fight Night’s history exists well beyond Denver. The inspiration for the event came from a similar program in Phoenix that Chris King of DPC Cos. attended a few years prior to Fight Night’s inception, Kramer said.
Other NAIOP chapters hold similar events in places such as Southern California and Pittsburgh, which has held its own “Night at the Fights” for nearly 25 years.
But Denver’s event is no joke. In previous years, some fights ended in knockouts. It’s a demanding event that requires months of training and preparation.
One boxing participant, Connor Haney, said prior to the event that he had been training for it since Labor Day, going to the gym five to six times a week for roughly two hours each session.
“The first week or so, I was very sore, I could hardly move after the workout,” said Haney, director of business development for Venture Architecture.
“It is definitely a ‘This is a real thing mentality’ … a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go into the ring and compete.”
Because Fight Night is an officially sanctioned boxing competition, months of preparation goes into ensuring the event runs smoothly. Haney said he reached out to the Fight Night committee in the spring to express interest in fighting. It wasn’t until July that he was told he was in.
Once selected, each boxer is assigned a gym and the training process begins. When asked why he chose to fight, Haney had a simple response.
“It’s just kind of a pride thing.”
The results of the bouts:
Marybeth “Barf” Austin, executive assistant at D.A. Davidson, beat Laura “The Ferrari” Farrar, investment sales manager at CBRE.
Rycherd “One-Time” Lott, director of business development at Gage Commercial Construction, beat Michael “The Harpoon” Harpole, senior associate at CBRE.
Aaron “The Load” Boyd, financial analyst at DPC Cos., beat Albie “Rents Due” Sherman, MBA candidate at the University of Colorado.
Kevin “Individually Metered for Gas and Electric” Woolsey, broker at Kaufman Hagan Commercial Real Estate, beat Connor “Hellish” Haney, director of business development at Venture Architecture.
